Dovetailing ...

Dovetailing ... this is a basic coaching concept that I have used for a long time now. After I get a sense of a student's 'game' - either by rolling with him, watching him roll with a number of others (or a combination of both) I still need to decide what to teach him ...
Now, I could simply pick decide on a couple of techniques that he (or she) doesn't know and add them into his game ... but that would be far from the best approach. What I usually do is try to find something he does well and 'add' to it, tweak it a bit and make it better. Working on something a student is already basically familiar with is one way to ensure the technique will be rapidly adopted into his game. The if I can coach him in techniques that supplement what he is already doing, but without taking him away from his usual game - I can pretty much rest assured that he will take ownership of the new material. This concept of 'dovetailing' into the student's existing game is a powerful way to effect meaningful and effective changes in their performance levels.
More soon ...
JBW